Announcements and Broadsides provides announcements
and information about significant new material available in All Things
Ransome, and also about Ransome-related events and occurrences, such as shows,
performances, and so forth. In the latter case we expect that such announcements
may appear in other places; posting on All Things Ransome is intended as a
courtesy and a way to reach more Ransome enthusiasts.

Postings in this section will be retained as they may
be of possible interest to future enthusiasts and enquirers.

A new section, Inspirations, has been added to All Things Ransome. This section is an effort to explore the actual people who played a part in Ransome's formulation of many of his characters, in particular the major child characters. We have also included references to the few people (mostly adults) where there is a single individual who was the model for a character.

The former "Swallows" and "Amazons" pages have been removed from Locations as they are obsoleted by the new Inspirations section.

Posted 14 January 2015 from All Things Ransome

Announcements and Broadsides Section Repurposed

This section, Announcements and Broadsides, has been repurposed to provide announcments and information about significant new material available in All Things Ransome. It will still be available for its original purpose of announcing Ransome-related events and occurrences.

Posted 4 November 2010 from Michelle Knight

Theatre Production of Swallows and Amazons at Bristol Old Vic

I'm writing to introduce myself as the producer of the theatre production of Swallows and Amazons which is opening at Bristol Old Vic on 1st December.

I was wondering if
you have any groups who might be interested in coming to see the production at Bristol Old Vic? I'm currently compiling the programme and am looking for content which might be of interest to include, e.g. maps, images, etc. If you have anything you'd be willing to share which may be useful I'd be happy to see it, and have sent your website link to the programme designers for inspiration.

The show runs from 1st December - 15th January, and a programme abuot the making of the show is being broadcast on More 4 on 11th December; do get in touch if you'd like to know more.

Posted 2 July 2010 from Nick Wood

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea - playscript.

Adapted by Nick Wood.

I was asked to adapt We Didn’t Mean to go to Sea for Eastern Angles Theatre Company and the production went on a sell out tour in the summer of 2008. The script was approved by the Ransome Trust and I know from the Tarboard that the whole idea of turning the book into a play generated an interesting debate amongst members. It is planned that the show will tour again next year and in the meantime the play has been published. It is available from the publisher Aurorametro, Amazon, your friendly local library, and, as they say, all good booksellers.

Below is a link to the publisher’s page and also one to a trailer of the show the company have put on YouTube.

Coniston Launch offers
a 110 minute 'Swallows and Amazons' cruise on Coniston Water on Wednesdays through
15 September 2010. This is the original Swallows and Amazons cruise, conducted by
Coniston Launch for a number of years. The cruise is crewed by two Ransome
experts, both of whom are members of TARS
(The Arthur Ransome Society).

Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water run by the National Trust
(and inspiration for Captain Flint's houseboat) is now running a 'Wild Cat Island Cruise'
every Sunday morning at 11am from Coniston Pier. The cruise is themed on all the points
of 'Swallows and Amazons' interest around Coniston Water.

Not the original, but the dinghy used for Swallow in the 1974 film of
Swallows and Amazons. She is 12.5 x 4.8 feet, varnished mahogany on oak,
and it is "old" varnish. The auction ends on 14 April. Here is a link to the
auction website with photos:

I am regretfully selling my boat Barnacle Goose, a 26' Hillyard that
Ransome chartered in 1951. He kept an account of his time on the vessel,
of which I have a copy.* She is a lovely, characterful boat, and almost
identical to the one depicted in Arthur Ransomes illustrations in "We didn't mean to go to sea".
I wondered if any of your visitors would be interested in her - it would be really wonderful
if she was bought by someone who appreciated her rich history...

*Ransome's log from this charter is reproduced on pages 92-97 of the Amazon Publication Ransome at Sea:
Notes from the Chart Table, edited by Roger Wardale.

On 3rd July my adaptation of We Didn't Mean to go to Sea — approved
by the Ransome Trust — will open in Ipswich. I didn't read the books as a
child, but when my daughter started to bring them home, I got hooked. We Didn't
Mean to go to Sea is, I'm pretty sure, my favourite of all of them, apart
from anything else it is such a good story; four people, all alone, in danger,
and no-one to help them but themselves. And it's set on a boat. What more could
you ask for?

I couldn't let the respect and affection I had for the author and his book inhibit
me if I was to translate an exciting novel into an equally exciting piece of
theatre. To have a chance of making it work I had to persuade myself that if
the characters and their story weren't mine at least they'd been lent to me for
the duration. There were a million decisions to be taken. What to leave out?
How do I turn interior monologues into dialogue? What to do about the balance
between John and Susan? How to get Father — an important character for the
start — involved earlier than his appearance on the deck of the ferry?
Should I leave the starboard buoys black or change them to their present green?

From the Thursday to the Sunday it will be in a tent on the waterfront as part of
the Ip-Art Festival and then the Eastern Angles production will tour the region
until August. Rehearsals start at the beginning of June, the final draft is in,
the set is being built, and the tickets are on sale. What I hope is that those
in the audience who have read the book won't feel let down, and those who haven't
will want to at the first earliest opportunity. It's probably a bit late to be
sitting here hoping I've got it right.